Fifth Review Meeting of the ASEAN International Mobility for Students ProgrammeYogyakarta , Indonesia 9-10 May 2013

The 5th Review Meeting of the ASEAN International Mobility for Students (AIMS) Programme was held in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, from 9 to 10 May 2013. The Meeting was hosted with generous hospitality from the Ministry of Culture and Education, Indonesia. The participants of the Review Meeting included delegates from the Ministry of Higher Education, Malaysia; the Ministry of Education and Culture, Indonesia; the Office of the Higher Education Commission, Thailand; the Commission on Higher Education, the Philippines; the Ministry of Education, Brunei Darussalam; the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Japan; and representatives from participating higher education institutions.

Member countries provided progress updates and Japan was welcomed to present a proposal for participation in the AIMS programme. Additionally, the winners of the M-I-T internationalisation Award shared good practices in internationalisation management with the Meeting and SEAMEO RIHED introduced its ongoing work towards a common credit transfer system for the region. The Meeting constituted an important step towards building fruitful synergies of bilateral and multilateral cooperation, and developing the networks and partnerships necessary for building a sustainable future for the AIMS Programme and the citizens of Southeast Asia.

The 6th AIMS Review Meeting will be organized later this year in Chiang Mai, Thailand and will be hosted by the Office of the Higher Education Commission, Thailand.

The 7th Meeting of Directors General, Secretary General, Commissioner of Higher Education in Southeast Asia was hosted by the Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport of Cambodia and SEAMEO RIHED on 9 April 2013, at the Angkor Paradise Hotel, in Siem Reap, Cambodia. The Meeting was attended by the Directors General, Deputy Directors General and Deputy Secretary General of Higher Education, as well as country representatives from Brunei Darussalam, Philippines and Singapore. The Meeting was also attended by the Director of SEAMEO Secretariat, the Deputy Director of ASEAN-China Centre, senior representatives from DAAD/ASIIN, Germany, Hiroshima University, Japan, along with senior officers and staff from the Department of Higher Education, the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport, Cambodia, the Director and Deputy Director of SEAMEO RIHED and SEAMEO RIHED staff. The Meeting was honored by His Excellency Pit Chamnan, the Secretary of State, Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport, Cambodia, who delivered the opening remarks and inaugurated the meeting.

The Meeting remarked the importance of the six-year progress of regional collaboration towards the common space of higher education in Southeast Asia. The Meeting discussed on several areas of regional higher education collaboration and action plan on the establishment of ASEAN‐QA project, ACC and SEAMEO RIHED collaborative programmes, Southeast Asian HEI presidents/rectors/chancellors/vice-chancellors conference, action research on common credit transfer system, ASEAN citation index and the training series for HEI international relation officers.

During the Meeting also took place the signing ceremony of AIMS Programme Letter of Intent, in which Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam, together with SEAMEO RIHED toward the upcoming participation in the programme of Brunei Darussalam, Philippines and Vietnam.

The 4th Review Meeting of the ASEAN International Mobility for Students Programme (AIMS Programme) successfully concluded in Hue, Vietnam. Over the course of two days, the Vietnamese Ministry of Education and Training (MOET) and Hue University hosted the Meeting with great enthusiasm and generous hospitality.

In attendance at the Meeting were delegations from the Ministry of Higher Education, Malaysia (MOHE); the Ministry of Education and Culture, Indonesia (MOEC); the Office of the Higher Education Commission, Thailand (OHEC); the Ministry of Education and Training, Vietnam (MOET); the Commission on Higher Education, the Philippines (CHED); the Ministry of Education, Brunei Darussalam (MOE), as well as representatives from participating higher education institutions and SEAMEO RIHED.

On 15 November 2012, delegations arrived to Hue City, Vietnam, and were invited for an official visit of Hue University. The tour included the university Learning Resource Centre and the Advanced Physics Class, College of Education. Delegations were there provided an opportunity to communicate with professors and students.

A collaborative session was organized following the university visit, in order to provide a close consultation among participants to discuss and make arrangements for operational issues relating to the Programme.

The following day, 16 November 2012, the 4th Review Meeting resumed at the Grand Meeting Room, Hue University. Ministry representatives from Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam were invited to present status updates as well as current issues and proposed solutions. Matters related to programme expansion were further discussed among participants. Topics including the expansion of study fields, the financing of student mobility, student number and country expansion were discussed in earnest.

H.E. Prof. Dr. Sc Bui Van Ga, Vice Minister of Education and Training, Ministry of Education and Training, graced the Meeting with his presence and presented a speech remarking on the growth and benefit of the programme for the region.

Thailand will provide the venue and host the 5th Review Meeting of the AIMS Programme with the support of the Office of the Higher Education Commission, Thailand (OHEC). The Indonesian delegation meanwhile offered to lend their support to the Programme and host the 6th Review Meeting in Jakarta.

The five-year progress of harmonisation in the regional higher education since 2005 was promisingly remarked by the Meeting. The Directors General and their representatives further discussed on future collaboration and action plan on the establishment of ASEAN Research Cluster (ARC) and ASEAN Citation Index (ACI), the expansion of regional student mobility, the strategic roadmap towards collective mechanisms of higher education, and the development of regional university database and links.

The 3rd M-I-T (Malaysia-Indonesia-Thailand) Student Mobility Programme Review Meeting held successfully on 16th March 2012, in Penang, Malaysia. SEAMEO RIHED would like to express our greatest appreciation to the Ministry of Higher Education, Malaysia, and Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) for graciously hosting the Meeting.

The Meeting came out with updated status and progress of the Programme from Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand, statement of country expansion from Vietnam, a new name of the Programme (ASEAN International Mobility for Students or AIMS), and comments on the Programme Handbook.

Reference is made to the M-I-T Student Mobility Program Review Meeting during 27-28 September 2010 in Putrajaya, Malaysia on the commitment of having Biannual Review Meeting to follow up the implementation of the M-I-T Student Mobility Program in the 2011 academic year.

Furthermore, with reference to the 1st iAward Assessment Committee Meeting, graciously hosted by Directorate General of Higher Education, Ministry of National Education, Indonesia, 24-26 April 2011, Jakarta, Indonesia, Internationalisation Award or iAward was established as a supporting tool to foster the student flow under the M-I-T student mobility programme.

Following the success of 1st M-I-T Student Mobility Program Review Meeting, SEAMEO RIHED would like to express our greatest appreciation to the Directorate General of Higher Education, Ministry of National Education, Republic of Indonesia for accepting to host and participate in the 2nd iAward Assessment Committee Meeting and 2nd M-I-T Review Meeting during 23-24 September 2011.

In the first event, a group of iAward Assessment Committee will review and finalise an amended iAward Assessment Instrument as well as to discuss on the assessment procedure and assessment timeline. In the second event, the key persons from M-I-T countries will be able to meet, share, and review the recent obstacles and recommendations as to search for the appropriate solution together. In addition, the readiness of expansion of disciplines and participating countries will be discussed.